


Freaking Out

by absolutelynoteli



Series: Freaking Out [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Meteor, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Please let me know if there is, Trans Dave, idk if there is anything else i need to tag?, not the focus but its mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 01:21:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absolutelynoteli/pseuds/absolutelynoteli
Summary: Dave had a nightmare and is panicking. Karkat suprise comforts.Your name is Dave Strider and you are freaking out.





	Freaking Out

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long while ago and just decided to post it. It's my first fic, so please let me know if theres anything that needs work or needs to be tagged or if theres something you like etc.

Your name is Dave Strider and you are freaking out. Your hands are shaking as you grip the hem of your god tier shirt and walk through fuck knows where on the meteor. It was just a dream. A dreambubble full of puppet ass and swords, but a dream.  
Why won't your hands stop shaking?  
You let your feet lead you along the empty halls, no idea where you're trying to go. As long as it distracts, even a little, from the memories of notes that lead to punches and bruises and swords and cuts, you'll keep walking.  
You're pretty sure you're mumbling out load to yourself but you don't care. Raps and rhymes are way fucking better than the shitstorm in your brain.  
It doesn't work completely and you still feel fresh tears pricking at your squinting eyes. The paths of earlier ones smeared across your cheeks, only partially hidden by your shades. God, if anyone saw you like this, if /Bro/ saw you like this...  
Your hands shake a little harder.  
Without warning, a hand appears on your shoulder, so you whip around, swinging the attached arm around as you pull it up and behind your attacker's back and keep it in position, almost automatically.  
"WHAT THE FUCK STRIDER?!" Before Karkat even finishes the screech you release his arm and back up. You fucked up, you didn't know it was him, it was an accident.  
"What the fuck Strider?" Karkat repeats, slightly quieter. He glares at you, cradling his arm a little.  
"Shit, sorry I don't-" Your voice is raw from crying and it cracks off before you can start. You have to get out of here, can't let him see you like this.  
"Str... Dave? God are you alright?" He reaches a tentative hand towards you and you half turn away, not yet committed to running. "Holy shit are you crying?"  
Thats it, you have to go, have to run, can't let him see you like this, weak, shaking. Your binder feels too tight and your hood feels like its strangling your neck, unable to let air through. You turn away from Karkat completely and take a step forward ready to start sprinting away through the halls but a hand wraps around your wrist, sending shivers up your arm. The only thing keeping you from twisting away and running is the whisper accompanying it.  
"Dave, please don't hide. Stay with me."  
Karkat moves back in front of you. He's nearly a foot shorter than you but strong enough you know you couldn't just yank yourself from his hand on your wrist if he were holding tightly.  
But he's not. His hand is gentle and kind. You find your eyes fixated on the little point of contact, unable to move them.  
"Shit, sorry," He releases your wrist but you reach out and grab his hand, not willing to loose that one piece of warmth. The small bit of contact, so much more than you've felt in a long time.  
You finally are able to flick your eyes up from your hand, intertwined with his, to see him watching you as if looking at a fragile bird.  
He speaks quietly, much softer than you could ever imagine him talking, "Do you want to come inside?"  
You don't really know where he means but you nod slowly, not trusting your voice to answer for you.  
"This is where I do most of my reading, its comfortable and quiet here." The room he pulls you into is small with stacks of books taking up all the free space not taken up by mounds of pillows (which, you note, are also mixed with books).  
Karkat leads you onto a pile of the pillows, tossing a few books out of the way with one hand, you haven't let the other one leave your grasp.  
He lies down and you lie next to him, your connected hands resting between you.  
"Daymares?" His voice is just above a whisper, which would be strange for him if it weren't so comforting. You nod.  
"Do you want to talk about them?" You grip his hand tighter.  
God yes you do, screams something inside your head but you stay silent looking at ceiling as you feel him study you.  
He gently squeezes your hand.  
"...It was my Bro. I was back in my apartment, finding note after note after note. Strife after strife after strife. He said it was training, just like he used to." You shiver a little, remembering, Karkat stays quiet, listening. You turn your head to look at him, finally.  
"Do you... Can you ever not tell between a memory and a dream? I shouldn't be able to remember it but I remember him, telling me how to hold a sword the night before I turned five. I remember how proud he was, watching me, barely able to hold the sword up. That was the last time I saw him smile. I worked so hard to see that smile again but I guess nothing I did was ever enough. I couldn't win, he was insane if he thought a fucking kid could ever beat him. God, it seemed so normal, to barely get any food from the fridge, to have to cover the cuts and bruises he gave me before school, to be constantly on edge, constantly afraid." Your voice cracks again and you reach a hand under your shades to feel the tears streaming down your face, unnoticed by you as you talked. "I had nothing to compare it to. I didn't talk about it with the others and I had no other friends. I didn't go out and barely even went to school, Bro didn't care so why should I have. What did... Why did he... What did I do?"  
You're hiccuping and your words aren't smooth and you hate it.  
"Dave..." Karkat emphasizes the word with a with a gentle hand squeeze and shifts, pulling your head into his lap. He strokes your hair soothingly and you don't move. You don't dare shatter this moment.  
"Dave, none of it was your fault. You did enough and you did your best." You don't have time to think about what either of you just said because you drift off, exhausted, as he hums quietly and pets your hair.  
No dreams come and you sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> (Also note: I just realized that Dave falls asleep in his binder. Irl, do not do that ever. Sleeping in a binder/wearing one for too long is really bad and can mess up your ribs and stuff and will HURT in the morning.)


End file.
